Method of cutting



` piece, and in the Patented 'Apt'. 25, 1944 METHOD OF CUTTING James L. Anderson, Closter,

Air Reduction Company,

N. J... assignor to l Incorporated, New

York, N. Y.. a corporation of New York Original application January/2.5, 1940, Serial No.

Divided and this application October 25, 1941, Serial No. 416,446

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the cutting of metal bodies by means of oxygen jets directed against the Work-pieces from cutting torches.

An object of the invention is to cut faster Without using excessive' quantities of oxygen. Attempts 'to increase cutting speed by using larger tips and higher oxygen pressures waste oxygen, and beyond rather narrow limits are ineffective. With this invention a cut is made by using two cutting torches that are moved across the work-piece from opposite sides, with the torches disposed to cut in the same plane.

By making different parts of a cut at the same time the period required to sever a work-piece can be almost cut in half. Because of the necessary physical dimensions of the torches, or their supports, however, one cut is stopped before the torches come together and the stopped torch is moved back out of the way while the other torch completes the cut.

When cutting thick work-pieces the torches moving toward one another are set to project their oxygen jets in directions that converge at an angle that is approximately equal to the sum vof the drag angles of the cuts made by the torches. This feature of having one torch in effect undercut the drag of the cut made by the other makes practical the use uof 4two torches on a single' cut. It may be said, therefore, to be another object of the invention to provide an improved cutting process in which two torches are used to make a singlecut. I

Another feature of the invention relates to variation in the speed of the-torches to compensate for changes in the thickness of the workcutting of round bar stock to a change in speed along an arc at a rate that also changes the transverse component of the cutting torch speed.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 315,473, filed January 25, 1940.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part hereof:

Figs. 1-6 are diagrammatic views showing successive positions of cutting torches and the progress -of the cuts when severing a round-stock work-piece in accordance with this' invention.

Two oxygen cutting torches II and I2 are used to cut a metal work-piece I3 which is shown as a round bar or billet, but which may be of various shapes. Some features of the invention,

however, relate particularly to the cutting ofA cylindrical work-pieces. v

The torches II and I2 may be of conventional design with a central oxygen jet surrounded by Oxy-fuel gas preheating jets that heat the surface metal to ignition temperature as the torch progresses over the work-piece during a cutting operation. The torches may be moved by apparatus such as shown in my copending application Serial No. 315,473, or may even be moved by hand.

Fig. 1 shows the torches II and I2 in starting position. The torch I2 is preferably vertical and the torch II set at an angle so that its oxygen jet slopes at a small angle toward the vertical `jet from the torch I2. The purpose and amount of this slope-will -be explained as the description proceeds.

The torches I I and I2 are held in starting position, after their preheating flames are lit, un-

til the metal under the torches is heated to ignition temperature. Both torches may be started on their cutting strokes at the same time, but

in the preferred embodiment of the invention the right-hand torch I2 is started a short while ahead of the left-hand torch II.

Fig. 2 shows the torch I2 moving parallel to itself, and about the axis of the work-piece I3 as a center, as it starts cutting the work-piece from the right side. The torch I2 is moved on an arc that keeps vthe tip of the torch substan- `tially uniformly spaced from the surface of the Work-piece. The direction and speed of movement at the instant represented by Fig. 2 are indicated by a vector I5. The horizontal component of the movement of the cutting jet of torch I2 is represented by the vector I6. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the torch I2. is always moved parallel to itself and the cutting jet from this torch remains vertical.`

After the torch I2 has been moved a short distance, for example, about 6', the torch II is moved vparallel to itself along an are in the same manner as the torch I2.

Fig. 3 shows the positions of the torches fandthe progress of the cuts at the time that the righthand torch I2 has been moved 45. V"I"`l'ie` v direction and speed of moveinent are indicated by a vector I8 and the horizontal component of this movement-by a vector I9.

The speed represented by the vector I8. that is,

the speed along the arc of `movement', of the torch I2, is enough less than the arc speed (vector I5) of Fig. 2 to make the horizontal component (vector I9)-of movement inFi'g. 3 less isfactorily at a distance from ing back to starting position. The extremeleithand position that was reached by the torch I2 is shown in dotted lines. During this time i that the torch I2 is being returned to starting position, the work-piece I I can be moved forward into position to have the torches I I and I2 repeat their cutting operations and sever a new I length from the work-piece.

ing acceleration to a selected cutting speed, grad-1 ually slows down as it moves toward the right The speed along its arc of actual movement is indicated in Fig. 3 by a vector 2I and the horizontal component o1' this movement by a vector 22.'

Fig. 4 shows the cutting torch II at the end of its cutting stroke. The torch II is shown stopped and the oxygen cutting jet is shut ofi. The movement of the torch I2 continues as indicated by a vector 23. The torches II and I 2 might be made to approach closer together before one of them is stopped preparatory to moving it out of theway of the other torch. It is advantageous to have both torches cutting simultaneously as long as possible in order to shorten the time required to sever a given workpiece. However, the physical dimensions of the torches or of the means by which the torches Y are supportedand moved, limit the distance within which one torch can be brought toward the other. The stopping position of the torch II is that of the apparatus disclosed in my copending application Serial No 315,473.

The face of the cut, that is, the front wall of the kerf cut by the torch II is indicated by the line 24. This line is n'ot straight because of the "drag of the cut when working in a heavy section. 'The direction in which the cutting jet is projected from the torch II is indicated by the dot-and-dash center 'line 25. A dotted line 26 connects the top and bottom edges of the face of the cut. The angle A between the lines 25 and 26 is the angle of drag of the cut made by the torch II. the cut made by torch I2.

Because of drag, the faces of the cuts made by both torches would be closest together at the tops of the cuts if the jets from the torches II and I2 were originally parallel. By disposing the torch II at an angle to the direction of the jet from torch I2, and making this angle equal to or greater than the sum of the drag angles of the two cuts, the faces of the cuts can be brought closer together near the bottoms of the kerfs. The advantage of this is that after the jet from the torch I2 has continued to move until it interf sects the face 24 at its lower end, the torch I2 can continue cutting until the work-piece is severedi. If the top of the lcut'were completed iirst, however, further cutting would not continue satthe torch and its preheating jets.

Fig." 5 shows the torch II moving back toward its starting position and out of the way of 'the torchIZ that continues to move toward the left to complete the cut. This' figure shows clearly the way in which thecuts come together at the bottoms of the kerfs first.

Fig. 6 shows the torch II at rest back in its The angle B is the angle of drag of Either one of the torches may be sloped for undercutting drag, or both of them may slope. In work that is thin in proportion to the size and velocity of the oxygen iets, where the drag is negligible, the streams from both torches can be-parallel. Terms o! orientation in the description and claims are relativ Some features oi the invention `can be used without others, and

various changes and mcdincations can be made in the illustrated embodiment without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

1. The method of cutting transversely through metal bar stock or other metal work-pieces of cylindrical shape, which method comprises directing a substantially vertical oxygen iet from a torch and against surface metal that has been heated to ignition temperature and moving the torch parallel to itself and about the axis of the' work-piece on a radiusthat maintains the torch at a substantially uniform distance from the surface to 4be cut, moving the torch to cut along a right plane and reducing the speed of movement along the arc at a rate that reduces the horizontal component of the torch movement to compensate for changes in the thickness of the work-piece as the Jet cuts nearer to the center where the work-piece is of maximum diameter, simultaneously cutting from the opposite side of the work-piece and along the same right plane `'by an oxygen Jet directed from a torch at an angl'e toward the vertical jet from the rst torch, said angle being approximately equal to the sum of the drag angles of both cuts near the inner ends of said cuts, stopping the second oxygen jet and reversing the directionl of movement of the second torch before the torches come together, and continuing the cutting operation of the irst torch until its4 cut intersects that of the second torch and completely severs the work-piece.

2. The method of cutting comprising simultaneously moving oxygen cutting Jets across av metal work-piece from opposite sides withthe surface metal against which the jets are directed `at ignition temperature and with the jets disposedto cut in a common plane, and directing the jets in converging directions so that the cuts meet :first at the bottom of the kerfs in spite of the drag of the cutting operations of both Jets.

3. The cutting process comprising moving oxygen jets across a metal work-piece from opposite ends of a desired line of cut and with the jets directed to cut in a common plane, and directing one jet at an angle to the other to undercut the drag of the cut made by the other Jet.

starting' position. The torch I2 is shown mov- 4. The method of cutting a metal work-piece which comprises moving oxygen cutting torches across the work-piece from opposite sides with the torches positioned to cut in a common plane. and directing the oxygen jet from one torch at an angle to the direction of the jet from the other torch, which angle is at least equal to the sumA of the angles of drag of the cuts'made by said torches.

'JAMES L. ANDERSON. 

